The NDTRS is a database that contains anonymous information about people in drug and alcohol treatment in Ireland. Information is collected from general practitioners, low-threshold services (that provide low-dose methadone or drop-in facilities only), outpatient and inpatient centres.

• Treatment is broadly defined as any activity which aims to ameliorate the psychological, medical or social state of individuals who seek help for their substance misuse problems. Clients who attend needle-exchange services are not included in this reporting system.

• Treatment is provided in both residential and non-residential settings. Treatment options include the following: medication (detoxification, methadone reduction, substitution programmes and psychiatric treatment), brief intervention, counselling, group therapy, family therapy, psychotherapy, complementary therapy and life-skills training.

NDTRS information is used by policy makers and service providers

• to monitor patterns of drug misuse
• to inform local and national drugs polices
• to develop strategies and target resources
• to assess treatment demand and plan service provision
• to identify the characteristics of clients entering treatment
• to develop appropriate treatment responses.

NDTRS data are reported to the European Drugs Agency and form part of their annual report on the drug situation in Europe.

If your service provides treatment for problem drug and alcohol use, it is very important that you participate in the NDTRS so that there is a complete overview of treatment demand for problem substance use in Ireland. Data collection for the NDTRS is carried out via an online web-based system. For detailed information about this, and/or how to contribute / participate, please contact the team at ndtrs(at)hrb.ie or view the NDTRS webpage.

The information collected includes:

• administrative details;
• demographic, social and economic characteristics;
• parameters to measure access to treatment;
• treatment status (new versus previously treated cases);
• ranked problem substance use in the month preceding the current treatment contact;
• risk behaviours (associated with injecting drug use) and initial treatment type.

The NDTRS data collection form captures data including: Demographic details; Referral/assessment details; Treatment details; Drug use; Risk behaviour; Activity details; Exit details.

Guide to completing the NDTRS Data collection form

Service providers: Analysis of the data collected is provided, on request, to treatment providers, managers and taskforce co-ordinators who participate in the NDTRS by contacting ndtrs(at)hrb.ie

 

For researchers, and all others requiring data please see our special interactive tables on the library website, you can search treatment data on different types of drug, including alcohol. The results of your analysis can be organised by year, age group, gender and geographical region of residence (county, HSE region, local health office, regional or local drugs task force area), and groups of variables.

 

If the data you need is not available through the tables, please complete the National Health Information Systems (NHIS) data request form and accept the terms and conditions for use of NDTRS data. The form is a PDF in editable format and when filled out can be returned to: ndtrs@hrb.ie